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The mayor of Black River – a community referred to as “the epicenter” for Hurricane Melissa – has detailed the immense storm surges and widespread devastation wrought by the disaster.

Speaking on the harrowing experience, the mayor described riding out the intense hurricane at an emergency response center.

“The entire town of this area is in ruins,” he stated. “And that devastation is so severe that the national leader classified this area as the worst-hit zone.”

Several people from the town are reported to have died, but the mayor mentioned receiving word of additional deaths that are still being verified due to connectivity and transportation difficulties.

“The hurricane arrived around eight in the morning and continued for around several hours, during which we were battered with heavy winds and a lot of rain,” he explained.

“We experienced up to 16ft of water at the emergency operating centre. That was a bit scary for us, and we were hoping that it would not rise any further, because we were on the second floor, and I tell you, when we saw the water rising, it was a scary experience for us.”

The mayor explained that the town, located in the severely affected south-western parish of St Elizabeth, is without running water and electricity, and the majority of buildings have lost their roofs. One official previously described the town as under water, with over 500,000 residents lacking electricity. A landslide has obstructed the primary routes of a nearby area, where roadways have been turned to mud pits. Locals are now sweeping water from their houses and trying to salvage their belongings.

Search and rescue operations and damage assessments have proven almost impossible because every one of the town’s vehicles and critical services such as firefighting, police, medical centers and supermarkets were “immensely damaged,” says Solomon.

He is now focused on trying to assist the most vulnerable, while also coping with the individual toll of the disaster.

“My vehicle was totally submerged by water. The roofing went, so I fully grasp the pain that persons are experiencing, but what is a key focus for me now is to focus on securing assistance for the most at-risk at this time,” he says.

The mayor believes that it will take billions of local currency to restore the community after Melissa’s annihilation. For now, he states, the main goal is removing debris from impassable roads, which have cut off the town.

“We are now trying to clear the main roads and secondary routes here so that we can deliver aid in. Most of our stores, if not all, were impacted negatively so they will be unable to provide supplies to individuals who are in need at this time,” he says.

National leadership has seen the devastation first-hand, with an flyover of the area revealing the vast majority of roofs in the area had been lost.

“This will be a enormous undertaking to restore this historic town. But although it is destroyed, we can vision a tomorrow of it rising stronger and improved,” he informed local media.

“It will be accomplished. So keep the optimism, keep hope alive, and we will get through this, and we will rebuild better,” he said.